What are the two most important things when celebrating a birthday? Loved ones and food. I had plenty of both today. Grant got up two hours earlier than I did this morning and cleaned our entire place, including vacuuming and doing all the laundry. When he was all done, he brought me a mug of fresh coffee to wake me up and he led me out to the living room where my favorite breakfast from Nation’s was waiting: the Junior One-Egger with one egg over-easy, hash browns, linguica and a side of sourdough toast. We sat on the couch together and enjoyed our breakfast and coffee. At that moment, I knew I could be happy celebrating my birthday anywhere (even in quarantine), as long as we were together. It was perfect.

I then opened up some birthday cards from family, including a thoughtful note from my parents-in-law and some sweet drawings from my nephew and niece in Washington. After that, Grant told me to open his gift to me. It was pretty large and on the heavier side. I had no idea what it was until I ripped off the gift wrap, opened the outer box, and saw… the Kitchen Aid Gourmet Pasta Press Stand Mixer Attachment. I’ve had my eye on that attachment kit for years and I was so happy that Grant surprised me with it. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE pasta. I’ve tried making it a few times from scratch, but the dough is always difficult to shape when it’s made with autoimmune protocol (AIP) ingredients, which doesn’t allow egg. My new pasta maker attachments will make it easy to have homemade bucatini, rigatoni, spaghetti, fusilli, and small/large macaroni. I’ll be sure to write a blog post on using it soon.

After I opened my present, I talked on the phone with some family members who called to wish me a happy birthday. Grant and I then picked up a Wombo Combo pizza from Round Table and settled in for a fun afternoon of movies. We streamed Ip Man 4 with one of our perennial favorites, Donnie Yen. We also watched Knives Out, a great whodunnit with Christopher Plummer, Daniel Craig, and Chris Evans.

It was a fantastic birthday and definitely for one for the books!

This daily blog post series is our way of sharing our experience with you, our readers. We’ll talk about our daily routines, adjustments to working from home, recipes based on limited ingredients and any other topic that comes to mind. It’s our way of connecting with the “outside” world, while also giving us the opportunity to look within and reflect on what we’re experiencing and how we’re feeling. Thanks for your interest in sharing this journey with us. Stay tuned and be well.